In early 1933, following the signing of Executive Order 6102 by President Roosevelt, which made the private ownership of gold illegal, thousands of these coins were turned in to the U.S. Government and melted down. Few coins managed to survive, thus increasing their value today.

Coin Collector or Investor?

Collecting gold bullion coins would probably be considered more along the lines of coin investing rather than coin collecting, considering that they are made primarily for the purpose of precious metal investment.

However, it often becomes difficult to distinguish between a coin collector and a coin investor. Every coin collector would like to see their collection increase in value over time, so it becomes a sort of investment.

The coin investor, on the other hand, buys the gold bullion coins for the purpose of making a profit from them at a future date, then often becomes intrigued by their beauty and history along the way.

In my opinion, if you find gold bullion coins intriguing, with their various themes, designs and images, and you have the money to buy them, they can make a great collection. On that same note, however, old gold coins also can be found which have beautiful designs and images.

Gold Coin Collecting

Almost every coin collector would love to have a gold coin collection but few can afford more than a few modern gold bullion examples.

If you are interested in a gold coin collection, keep in mind that these coins can run into a lot of money depending on the market price of gold.

Here are some ideas:

When gold reached $1000 an ounce in early 2008, many of the old gold coins, which had managed to escape melting in the early 20th century, were melted down for their gold content. No one knows yet how many were melted down, but we do know that the remaining coins suddenly became more rare and valuable.

For coins with more numismatic value you should collect old gold coins like the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. With these old American coins, you get the intrinsic value of the gold encased in a beautiful 100 year old coin which could increase in value because of rarity.

When building a precious metal coin collection be very careful that you do not buy counterfeit coins. It is a good idea to buy only coins that have been certified by a reputable third party grading service or, at the very least, by a competent expert that you trust.